14 July, 2006
VIETNAM
Mass suicide amongst youth, a disturbing phenomenon

In the first six month of 2006, 16 kids have taken their lives in mass suicides, mostly using sleeping pills. For local teachers, schools must teach spiritual values, consumerism is the greatest evil.


Hanoi (AsiaNews) – Alarm bells are being set off in Vietnam as a result of the rising number of mass suicides among young people. Since the beginning of 2006, 16 teenagers, school mates or friends, have killed themselves. The latest case involves five 13-year-old girls from Phuong Hoang in Thanh Ha district (Hai Duong province). After tying their hands with a red string they jumped together into the Huong River.

In Hanoi’s Long Bien district, a boy and a girl, both 14, killed themselves by taking sleeping pills because their parents opposed their budding love.

In Co Nhue, also near Hanoi, nine 14-year-old girls took lethal doses of sleeping pills after their parents scolded them for not doing well at school.

Similarly, three 12-year-old teenagers from a high school in Ben Tre died from taking sleeping pills.

For principal Nguyen of Hanoi’s DTH High School, “life today has become very complex and kids are vulnerable. Education is largely theory-oriented, unconcerned with spiritual activities or teaching the country’s traditional values. We forget that our love and respect as adults for them is also very important in a child’s development.”

For Ms Tran, from another Hanoi high school, “in the absence of spiritual education, young people are defenceless against consumerism, which sucks the life out of their existence providing no positive or strong motivations.”

this is what happens when you try to enforce your strict @$$ old values in a new society where kids have stronger rebellious tendancies

I say make it more diffcult for kids to obtain things that can potentially harm them.

LOL. Don't think that is the solution of this problem. If kids want to kill themselfs... they could even use ice popsticle sticks to do it! (...and don't ask me how. I don't want to give anyone new ideas )

Mordern Asia has its problems just like Western societies . The drive to accumulate might be too much for Vietnamese with their ancient more spiritual values & simple lifestyles .

I think it's a part of DARWINISM. You know, the survival of the fittest and elimination of the unfit. It's good for Vietnam in the long run.

i think they are copying japanese

Oh crap no!

Bring on the tentacles!

man the one about "the boy and girl who kill themself cause their parents down let them be together" is pretty stupid they're fu-king 14 what the hell do they know about love.

Remind me of Romeo and Juliet.


The thing is teens are having sex and relatioship too early and parents/school don't know how to cope with it. According to Health Department in Vietnam, 1/5 girls have abortion before marriage. One hospital in Hanoi performs 30 abortions a day.
20% of male have sex with a prostitute before marriage. and there is an increase in babies born with HIV.

I guess schools/society and parents need to address safe sex. Seem like they're not doing enough. Hot lines and non profit organizations can also help these kids. I don't know how much these exist in Vietnam but seem like someone/something is failing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/vietnam/st...education.shtml
http://vnexpress.net/Vietnam/Doi-song/2006/07/3B9EB9D9/

I need to buy a box of condoms and send them to Vietnam.

no more abstinence for the win!

damn! them chics be having sex like nothing....i need to head to VIETNAM! lmao jk

I had a friend in middleschool who took a shotgun and blew a hole into his face because he wasn't doing well in school. Seriously, life isn't all about grades. Money doesn't always make someone happy.

i'm sick of it
They're stupid,especially some girls i knew on Vietnamese university,they was dumbed by their bf,so they tried to kill themselves by jumping out of the building.
That reminds me about Suicide Clubs in Japan

We had Japanese class & Anime club in Vietnam,but still we dont have motivation

the only thing i can remember about Japan being in Vietnam is Doremon, a cartoon character, i love Doremon!

Plus Sailor Moon & Dragon Ball + Dragon Quest,all of that i love it very much on 90s
Others manga came from illegal way to Vietnam,but it still a revolution ^_^

Anyhow, back to the topic:
All you have to know is that there is a major cultural clash between viet teens and the adults. Adults tend to stick to their values, while teens adapt to new things-- style, rebellion, whatsoever. Parents should be educated in Vietnam that their ignorance can result in bad consequence to the kids. That's the straight up Truth...

It had not happened ... say in the 1980's , not even in the beginning of 1990's

Parents need to spend time interacting with their children. Otherwise, children feel alienated and lonely, leading to suicidal thoughts and psychological misbehaviors.